Major investment benefits Cornwall's tap water

04th December 2014

The second phase of a £14.5million project will start delivering even better drinking water to customers in Cornwall today.

South West Water has invested £14.5million to upgrade Restormel and Wendron Water Treatment Works, which between them supply over three-quarters of the county.

At Restormel, near Lostwithiel, six new granular activated carbon (GAC) filters have been installed.

Granular activated carbon is a porous material with a large internal surface area - just one teaspoon has the same surface area as a football pitch. Due to its large surface area and specific surface chemistry it can remove large quantities of natural and manmade organic matter sometimes present in rivers and reservoirs supplying water treatment works.

Chris Rockey, Science and Water Quality Manager, explained: "We already have some of the best tap water in the country but this major investment will deliver even better drinking water to our customers in Cornwall.

"We will be bringing the new filters on line one at a time and blending the new and improved water with the water currently produced by the works to ensure a smooth transition."

Customers supplied by Restormel will start benefiting from the upgrades when water that has been through the GAC treatment process is introduced into supply from today (4 December).

At Wendron, near Helston, five GAC filters have been installed and the existing rapid gravity filters have been refurbished. A similar approach was taken there when customers started receiving a blend including the new water from late September 2014.

Work started on both sites last year and all the new filters will be in use by the end of December 2014.

More information is available on our website: www.southwestwater.co.uk/cornwall

Notes to editors

• Restormel Water Treatment Works supplies 67% of the population of Cornwall with drinking water, including St Austell, Newquay, Truro, St Ives and parts of Bodmin, Redruth and Camborne
• The works produces around 62 megalitres of water a day (Ml/d) during the winter and 72 Ml/d in summer
• Wendron Treatment Works supplies 9% of the population of Cornwall with drinking water, including Helston
• The works produces around 12 Ml/d
• South West Water operates 29 water treatment works

Published: 4 December 2014